Intimately, In Every Way He Knows You Fear
by Misfit Writer
Summary: Loki was able to steal Clint's mind, but his lack of understanding of the human heart leads him to underestimate the strength of a very unique bond. Different take on a particular scene in the movie. UPDATE: Now a 2-Shot!
1. Intimacy

I had this idea while reading a few other stories about this particular scene. I wasn't sure if I wanted to break this into a two-shot, but I'm posting it all at once so I hope you like it! My Word program isn't working right so I don't have an editor on this program. If anyone catches any errors please let me know! :)

Summary: Loki told her that he would make Clint kill her 'intimately, in all the ways he knows she fears most'. He didn't account for the strength of the bond that existed between the agents, nor what his actions might create between them.

Disclaimer: Not mine. If any of it was, there would already be a movie in the making for these two :)

A/N: Okay, I have fixed a couple of things that I caught wrong. I have also read that some of the more mature stories have been deleted, so I am wondering if anyone with an account at Archive Of Our Own could invite me? I clicked on the link to get one from them and they said it would take until September to become a member without another person's invitation :) If someone would PM me about it I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

I also broke this up in to two chapters because I wanted to add more to the end :-) Please let me know what you think of it!

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Natasha felt the air rush out of her lungs with a grunt as she landed hard on her back. Clint - well...Clint's body, Loki's mind - towered over her, an arrow already notched in his bow and pointed at her heart. She didn't know whether to be happy or nervous at the fact that he hadn't killed her yet; Loki's threat of having him kill her in the ways that Clint knew she feared most rang in her ears. When the man above her gestured with his weapon for her to stand, she complied with dread in the pit of her stomach. He'd gotten the upperhand in the fight had because of the fact that he wasn't afraid to hurt her now. In all of their sparring, they always had at least a little bit of restraint for fear of causing any permanent damage. They knew every single strength and weakness of the other, and Loki was definitely using that to his advantage. Well...that, and the fact that a certain big green monster had tossed her like a ragdoll only a few minutes before she engaged in this fight.

He lowered his bow long enough to spin her around and shove her down the hallway. She had no idea where he wanted to go at first; he muttered directions at her as they came to various junctions. It wasn't until the last couple of turns that she realized he was forcing her to go to her quarters. When they arrived, he gestured for her to open the door and then punched in the correct buttons to close and lock the door, and then spun and struck her with the back of his hand. She instantly retaliated, but he used his size and weight to overpower her and cuff one wrist. Nat was able to get in an elbow to his chin, but the mind control took away the effect she sought and he simply shoved her to the bed and cuffed her other hand so that she was trapped against the headboard.

"Now, isn't that better?" Clint's voice taunted. Nat took a deep breath to calm herself, but didn't respond. "Oh, come on, Tash, you know this is what you've wanted." He propped the bow up against the door and stepped over to her.

Nat refused to show the demigod how much that was true...how much she'd realized over the past few months that she was falling in love with her best friend. How much she ached to tell him every day, to touch him the way she had to touch her targets when seduction was involved. Instead, when he reached out to touch her cheek, she jerked away from him. "Get the hell away from me, you bastard."

The grin on Clint's face made her heart hurt. Normally that grin was one that he reserved for moments when he knew she was proud of him or impressed over something that he'd done. Now, it terrified her. Clint stripped the belt from a robe hanging off the back of her door and bound her legs to the foot of the bed, leaving her completely unable to defend herself. "Come on, don't you want to have a little bit of...fun?" he practically purred, drawing the zipper down on her suit. Nat's body involuntarily shivered, both from the cold air hitting her body and from the fear of what he planned to do to her. After everything she'd been through in her life, Natasha wasn't really afraid of what Clint would do to _her_...she was far more afraid of what the end result would do to Clint once he realized what he'd been made to do. When the artificially blue eyes took in the sight of the bare flesh between her breasts, unhindered by a bra, a leering smile dragged slowly across his face. "Naughty girl." With that, he yanked open the suit, exposing her fully to his malicious gaze.

Natasha closed her eyes as his calloused fingers traced the curves of her breasts, before his full hands pressed over them. For a moment she could pretend that this was her best friend, touching her the way she really wanted him to...tenderly, gently...until his hands flexed abruptly and squeezed to the point of pain. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to twist her body away from him, but Clint had none of it. He fondled and squeezed and yanked, and Natasha clenched her eyes to hold the tears of pain at bay, refusing to give the monster controlling the archer any satisfaction.

Once he'd had enough of that, one hand travelled up while the other ventured downward. As one set of fingers wrapped around her throat, the other set dragged the zipper down as far as it would go, about two inches below her navel. She allowed herself to be thankful for the small mercy of the zipper stopping there for a moment, before he reached down and yanked her dagger from her boot, and sliced away the rest of the suit. A hiss escaped through her clenched teeth when the dagger dragged along her skin as well, carving a long, thin line along her thigh before he finally dropped the knife on the bed beside her.

"Clint, please-" her desperate plea was silenced when the fingers around her throat tightened, cutting off her air.

"Clint isn't listening right now, sweetheart. He's enjoying this just as much as I am." Fingers danced around her hips for a moment, taunting her by letting her feel just how much of her was laid bare before him. She'd never told Clint her true feelings, so she didn't even know if he reciprocated, and now this monster was destroying something that, despite her profession, she considered to be sacred with someone she actually cared about.

Just as her vision was beginning to grow hazy, Clint released her throat. Instead, he reached up to grab her jaw, and held her in place while he kissed her roughly. His mouth muffled the indignant cry when two fingers invaded her abruptly. Natasha bucked her hips against the violation, ignorning the physical pain in her attempt to get away from the emotional agony. She'd imagined some of their romps might be rough, but she had always known that were they to become more than just friends, his care for her would translate as a lover as well. Loki was following through with his threat...this was one of the most effective ways he could destroy her...destroy both of them. As he continued to claw at her from the inside, the artificially blue eyes stared into hers, taunting her. Eventually she was able to turn her head away from him, clenching her eyes closed to hide her tears from him.

His mouth moved along her jaw down to her neck, where he bit down hard. This drew a startled yelp from the bound assassin, and made the archer pause. "A little payback for before, sweetheart." Finally, he drew his hands away from her and zipped up her suit once more, ignoring the gaping hole left behind from where he cut it away. "I've had enough playing around, haven't you? It's been fun, dear Black Widow, but there are more important things to attend to." Before she could react, he had picked up her dagger and stabbed her. A strangled cry tore from Natasha at the same time that it did Clint. She recognized this, and the fact that the wound was not immediately fatal, and struggled to regain composure as quickly as possible. He was breaking through the mind control.

"Clint!" she panted, fighting to look up into his eyes. He jerked the knife from her body, making her gasp at the fresh lick of pain across her stomach. "Clint listen to me, you have to fight him! Please...Clint please...don't let him win!"

"Nat..." he sobbed, his body trembling but his eyes still pointing down. "God, Nat...I'm so sorry..."

"Clint, none of this is your fault, do you hear me?" she insisted weakly. "Loki did all of this...I don't blame you." He wouldn't look up, focused too much on fighting the entity trying to control him, but she saw a lone tear drop from his eyelashes. His hand raised slowly, shakily, to poise the knife over her heart. Resigning herself to her fate, Natasha closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I love you."

Death didn't come. Fresh pain did though, in the form of shaky hands pressing against the wound in her abdomen. "God, Nat...I saw everything that I did. I couldn't stop it...I'm sorry. Open your eyes, please," he begged. His voice was his own, and when Natasha opened her eyes to meet his natural gray gaze, she could have cried in relief.

Instead, she forced herself to focus. She knew his control was only temporary...no way would Loki just let him go like that. He wanted Clint to see what he'd done. She had to do something to force the demigod out..._cognitive recalibration_ was what Coulson had told her he would need before his mind was completely free. She had an idea, and hoped it wouldn't backfire. As much as she knew she needed medical treatment, she needed to know he would be okay more. "I'm sorry," she murmured as he leaned over her to check her out. He gave her a confused look, which turned to recognition and surprise a split second before she headbutted him, effectively knocking him out. Natasha groaned as her own head began to ache.

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When Clint came to, he had to struggle to remember where he was. As soon as it hit him, the archer jolted upright and he scrambled to Natasha's side. Her eyes were closed, her head lolled towards him, and she was frighteningly pale and unmoving. He reached forward with a trembling hand, and nearly collapsed again with relief when he felt a pulse. "Tasha, hey...open your eyes for me darlin." He caressed her cheek gently to rouse her. "Please wake up," he begged, tapping her face firmly. Finally, she let out a soft moan and slowly forced her eyes open. "Thank God." He dropped his forehead to press against hers. "What were you thinking? You could have bled out before I woke up!" He didn't give her a chance to answer before freeing her hands and feet and then scooping her up into his arms and whisking her to the infirmary.

Coulson nearly ran into the pair as he was rushing through the halls. "Barton? Are you-"

Clint gave a short nod and gestured with his head toward Natasha, who had her face buried against his chest. She turned her neck enough to speak, growing too weak to do much more. "Cognitive recalibration," she stated simply. Coulson raised an eyebrow questioningly to the man holding her, who shrugged.

"She headbutted me, knocked me out." Coulson barked out a laugh before taking in the blood staining the blanket that covered the assassin. "I have to get her to the infirmary right now." The older agent nodded, and stepped back to allow the sniper past. Clint made it to the infirmary in no time, and the medic rushed to work on her. By the time he'd gotten her there, Natasha had passed out, so Clint could do nothing but wait until he was done.

The wait wasn't nearly as long as he'd anticipated, and his normally-plentiful patience thanked the doctor profusely for working so quickly. "She'll be fine, Barton. You got her here in time, I was able to stitch her up and have her on a unit of blood right now to get her back to where she should be. The healing salve will close up the wound in an hour or so, but I don't want her back in the action for a couple of days."

Clint snorted. "You know how she is, Doc. The second she's back on her feet she'll be insisting that she get back in the action. I'll do my best to keep her down, but I don't really know how much good that's going to do." The doctor nodded with a wry smile, and gestured for him to go ahead in to see her.

The archer stepped into the room, and froze. The woman in the bed didn't look nearly as bad as she had the last time he'd seen her, but the bandages covering her exposed stomach. He was afraid to step closer to her, to accept that he was the reason that she was laying there, a needle buried in her skin, returning the blood that he'd stolen from her. He felt a tremor in his hand, but this time it had nothing to do with mind control and everything to do with guilt and fear.

"If you don't stop standing in the doorway staring at me like a creep, I am going to kick your ass when this unit of blood is done." Clint knew he shouldn't have been surprised that she knew he was there, and that he was watching her despite having her eyes closed. A slight smirk twisted up one corner of his mouth, and he stepped up to her bed. Natasha opened her eyes, and looked up at him. "And I will also kick your ass if you don't get that kicked-puppy look off of your face. This was not your fault, Barton. Loki did this...not you."

Clint sat down on the side of her bed, careful not to jar her. "I should have fought him harder, I should have worked harder to protect you," he whispered, finding the hands in his lap incredibly fascinating. "I should have fought back before I...killed so many agents..."

Natasha stared at the normally-stoic, proud man before her in shock. Taking care to not shift her IV, the assassin tried to push herself into a sitting position. Clint instantly turned to her and tried to stop her. "Don't, Clint. Don't do that to yourself. Loki is a demigod, and has a massive power boost thanks to the Tasseract. He is sadistic, vindictive, and hell-bent on destroying us before he takes over the world. He planned all of this...knew what he was doing."

Clint's eyes narrowed at his partner in confusion. "Nat...what did he do to you?"

The assassin dropped her gaze to the gauze on her abdomen. "He figured out my weakness and a way to use it against me." Clint clenched his fists and his jaw as he understood just what that meant, and surged to his feet to pace around the room. "Hey, hey...look at me," Natasha pleaded. Slowly, her partner complied, his eyes a stormy steel color. "He is a monster, and he does whatever he can to destroy his enemies. Once he...compromised you, he could see how much I meant to you, and it didn't take long to figure out that you meant the same to me."

"Nat..." he sat back down, his face inches from hers, his eyes boring into hers. A hand reached up to caress her cheek. "_What did he do_?"

She reached up to cover his hand with hers, and gave him a wry smile. "He did what every good villian does when I get a hold of them...told me exactly what he planned to do, which meant I was prepared to foil his dastardly plan. And here we are, said dastardly plan foiled." She tugged Clint forward so that his forehead rested against hers.

"Not entirely foiled. I still hurt you before you reached me. I-"

Natasha rolled her eyes and tugged his hair. "_You_ did _nothing_ to me. _Loki_ was the one who did those things." She took a deep, shaky breath, willing herself to say what she'd been holding back for too long. "I hate him for taking something so intimate away from us..." An uncharacteristic blush darkened her cheeks, and when she looked up to meet his eyes again, they were wide with shock. He pulled back enough to get a good look at her face, to read the emotion there. "I don't want you to blame yourself for this, Clint. The worst thing that Loki could do to me would be to take away my best friend, my partner. I don't trust anyone else, and you know that. Just like you know that the only reason I'm saying these things is because they drugged me in order to stitch me up."

Clint laughed lightly, before taking her words for what he knew that they were. He lifted his free hand to cup her other cheek and captured her lips with his own. Natasha smiled against his mouth, reaching around to hold the back of his neck to hold him close to her. She stroked her tongue across his bottom lip, and sighed when he granted her entrance. Before they became too heated, Clint pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers again. Their gazes locked, and a slow, sexy smile spread across his partner's lips. "About damn time."

Natasha looked up at the unit bag hanging beside her, and then down at her IV when she saw that it was empty. Clint reached out to stop her when she tugged it out, but a smoldering look from her froze the archer and caught his breath in his throat. She removed the rest of the equipment attached to her, turned off the monitors that began to wail with the lack of contact, and then reached for Clint to help her to her feet. He complied smoothly, and wrapped a hand around her waist to pull her against him.

He could feel her legs tremble thanks to the drugs not quite out of her system, but he knew if he acted on it she would probably headbutt him again. Instead, he simply kissed her again and continued to hold her tight against his body. This time, instead of timid and restrained, Clint overwhelmed her with his passion. She didn't have a chance to claim control, because he was possessing her mind, body and soul, and it sparked a flame inside of her that she didn't know existed. After using her sexuality as a way to trick men into giving her what she wanted for so long, Natasha thought that it would never be the same on an intimate level again. If the way her knees were growing weak for a second time in less than a minute was any indication, intimacy was going to be far from a problem.

"Nat...we need to stop before I can't anymore..." Clint breathed against her lips. Natasha grinned seductively, and pulled away from him. After she slid into a robe her fingers intertwined with his, and she tugged him out of the medical bay and led him back to her room. Clint opened his mouth to question her, but a miniscule shake of her head had him snapping his mouth closed. The satisfied smirk she gave him was an unbelievable turn on, so he could do nothing but let her slide her key card across the pad so that her door slid open, and allowed her to pull him inside and lock the door behind them.

Finally shaken out of his stupor by the sound of the lock clicking into place, the archer spun Natasha and pressed her back against the door with his body. Once again, he possessed her with his mouth, forcing his tongue between her lips without waiting for permission. She moaned lightly, her hands fisting into his leather vest. Instinctively she rolled her hips against him, which earned her a ragged moan in return. Clint grabbed her waist and pushed her back roughly, keeping her from repeating the action. She smiled triumphantly, and bit his bottom lip teasingly. He growled in frustration at her, and reached up with one hand to press against her sternum and hold her back. "You are killing me, Nat...do you forget that we _just_ came from the med bay where they had to give you an emergency transfusion?"

The wicked, triumphant smile infuriated him. "The healing salve has closed the wound already. Take a look for yourself, if it'll make you feel better." She slid the robe down her arms in a painstakingly slow tease. Once the light fabric hit the ground, she moved on to the infirmary gown, and pulled the knot at her neck free and allowed it to fall away as well, leaving her in nothing but her panties. Despite the fact that he'd seen her in similar states of undress before, it had never been sexual...had never had the potential to bring him to his knees. He took a step back, and appreciated the view for a moment. Natasha could hardly breathe, equal parts excited and terrified of the man in front of her.

"God, Nat...how did we wait so long for this?" he growled, surging forward once more to bury a hand in her hair and devour her lips with his own. His free hand braced against the door, and his hips pinned her body against the wall once more. A soft moan spurred him on when he rocked his pelvis against her rhythmically. The assassin broke away from the kiss to drop her head back against the door, and Clint took the opportunity to drag his lips along her jaw and down her neck. Memories flashed across his mind of what Loki had forced him to do, so he decided to reenact the moment in a much more pleasant way. Once he reached the place that still bore his mark, he tightened his grip on her hair to hold her in place. Natasha tensed for a moment, but as his teeth grazed her skin lightly he felt her breaths shudder. Each time his teeth nipped at her throat, he followed it up with a light suck and lick. He was rewarded with light whimpers and attempts to gain control.

The archer abruptly dropped to his knees, finding himself at eye-level with the bandage on her abdomen. Wrapping one arm around the backs of her legs, Clint looked up to the goddess at his mercy and carefully began to peel back the gauze. As the tape pulled away from her skin, he follwed the line with his lips. Once the square was pulled away, he was relieved to see that she'd been honest when she told him the wound was closed. His lips lingered over the tiny scar left behind, expressing to her his regret for causing her such pain. Her fingers tangled in his short hair, and he sent her a brief, wicked grin before beginning a new journey. He kissed and nipped his way to her pantyline, tugging the offending piece of fabric out of the way slowly. He blew across her sensitive center lightly, reveling in the way it caused her entire body to quake for a moment.

"Clint..." Natasha breathed airily, tightening her grip in his hair as his lips teased closer and closer to her clit. When his tongue finally flitted out to taste her, the assassin's knees buckled for a moment, and she had to brace herself against his shoulders. He grinned wickedly, slipping his tongue out again and again, exploring her folds slowly before dipping inside of her. Nat moaned at the sensation, awestruck by how intensely her body was reacting to his ministrations. His fingers danced along her back, around to the front, and one hand began to tease her sensitive bundle of nerves until she was sure her heart was going to stop. "God, Clint..."

Instead of relenting, the archer took the pleading as a sign to pick up the pace. Between his fingers and his tongue, it didn't take long before Natasha came undone with a soft cry and Clint had to wrap his arms around the backs of her legs to hold her upright so that he could continue. Once she was finished riding out her climax, Clint released her and pushed to his feet. The assassin before him was using the wall as support, staring at him in shock. "I'm sorry, I was a little busy to respond...yes, Natasha?" he teased lightly, wiping the evidence of what he'd just done from his lips with the backs of his fingers.

"I..." she thought for a moment about what to say, but instead decided that actions were more important. Stepping forward on slightly shaky legs, Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Clint's hands came up to rest on her sides, tugging her close so that she could feel the effect that she had on him. Determined to take control this time, Natasha pushed him back step by step, meeting his movements, until they reached the bed. Without missing a beat, she shoved him backwards so that he fell onto the mattress with a small bounce. Caught off guard, he laughed whole heartedly, which froze Natasha in her tracks. The sound was one that few people got to hear, and she never took it for granted when she drew it out of him herself. She smiled affectionately before allowing herself to crawl on top of him, straddling his hips with ease.

"Not yet, gorgeous," Clint growled. He had her on her back before she knew what he was doing, and was resting on his knees beside her. "I want to make sure you know that I'm not going to hurt you like before...never again."

"Clint, I don't-"

"Nat, just hush. Let me do this." With that, his fingers slowly traced from her throat down to the valley between her breasts, where he curled around each one before placing his palms over them.

Natasha couldn't help but remember when Loki'd violated her, but Clint continued on with his much more pleasant reenactment by kneading them firmly. The sensation was far different from the last time, and her back arched so that her chest pressed firmly against his hands. The archer grinned in triumph and then continued down her body. As his fingers danced across her skin, his mouth latched on to her left breast, sucking and nipping and licking. Each of her breaths came out as a whimper, and his heart swelled when her knees spread out before his hands even reached her navel. While it may have seemed trivial to anyone else, he knew how much what Loki had made him do to her had hurt her. He knew how lucky he was that she allowed him to touch her so soon after what he'd been forced to do...it spoke volumes about how much she trusted him and cared for him.

Clint moved on to her other breast as his fingers massaged her hips. Her hands gripped the sheets as if they were the only things keeping her in place, and her lower body began to squirm under his hand. While his mouth kept busy, he drew his fingers down to her sensitive bundle of nerves and traced her folds much like he'd done with his tongue. She gave a low moan, and her breath hitched as he slowly slid one finger inside of her. Once he knew she was okay with it, he slid a second finger in, and began to stroke her firmly. The woman beneath him began to move in time with his fingers, shifting against him in a very different way than the last time his fingers had possessed her in such a way. With a final firm suck, he detached his mouth from her chest and leaned up so that his eyes drew her gaze.

"This is how it should have been, the first time my fingers explored you. The first time I ventured inside of you. I should have been doing the things that make your body quiver in ecstacy, not fear. I wish I could erase the last time from both of our memories, so that this could be the first time that I claim you as my own." He leaned down so that his nose brushed against hers, and he gave her a sexy smile. "The first time of many." His lips crashed into hers, and Natasha's hands shifted to his hair, clenching as her tongue warred with his own for dominance. Clint decided to play a little dirty, and stroked his thumb firmly across her clit in time with his other fingers, and the redhead in his arms cried out as her lips lurched off of the mattress.

Once her muscles stopped clenching around his fingers, he pulled them out of her and moved his lips to her forehead. Natasha could do nothing at first, save for revel in the waves of pleasure crashing over her. The care that Clint had taken to prove to her that he wasn't the monster Loki had forced him to be overwhelmed her. "Clint..." she panted breathlessly. "As far as I am concerned...that _was_ the first time. What Loki did...that wasn't you. You..." she paused until his grey eyes met hers, the emotion swimming in them immense. "You are my best friend...my partner. You are the only person I trust, the only person I have ever let myself really care about. I don't know why it took that monster's attack to bring us to this point, but I don't ever plan to go back. I love you, Clint Barton."

The smile that spread across his face took her breath away. Natasha reached up and unhooked his belt, not bothering to pull it free before unbuttoning his pants and yanking them down his legs along with his boxers. Clint raised an eyebrow, the smile never wavering. Nat rolled her eyes with a laugh and dragged his lips down to hers. The hand not tangled in his hair gripped his hip and yanked his lower body down as well, letting him know just what she wanted. The assassin above her did not disappoint, and entered her in one smooth thrust, drawing a low moan from the fiery redhead. Once he was all the way inside of her, he paused to give her a moment to adjust. Clint pressed his forehead against hers, and stared into her eyes as he began to move slowly. Neither looked away, though she bit down on her bottom lip, as the pace picked up. He watched her face flush as his strokes brought her to the brink of climax again, and he stopped increasing the pace, effectively holding her on the precipice. His lips twisted in a smirk as her eyes clenched and her head dropped back against the bed in frustration as she arched her body in an attempt to force him to go faster, but his unending patience kept her from changing the tempo.

"Clint..." she growled. When she looked up at him, there was murder in her eyes. If he were any other man, the look would terrify him. Clint, though, was only turned on even more by the fact that he could bring out such passion from this woman in the best possible way. He was the only one who would get to see this side of her...the only one who would _make love_ to the sexiest woman alive.

"How can I help you, my dear Black Widow?" the archer teased with a sexy smile. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what his play was. She did not respond right away, which caused the smile on her lover's face to spread even wider. Another growl rumbled in her chest when he slowed down the pace of his hips, reducing the friction to a near-painful level.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The glint in his eyes told her exactly what he wanted. "I am waiting for you to tell me what you want."

"You _know_ what I want, damnit!" Despite her struggles and her writhing, Clint held her in place effortlessly.

"Hmm...I don't think that I do. I want to hear it."

Natasha groaned and dropped her head back against the pillow as he held himself perfectly still inside her. She cursed his patience in every language that she knew, which drew a chuckle from him before he dropped his lips to her throat. He alternated between sucking and nipping and licking, tracing a path down to her breasts. He was perfectly content to continue tormenting her with his mouth while he waited for her to cave.

The spy knew exactly what he was doing. Had it been any other man forcing her to beg, she'd have snapped his neck and moved on. But this wasn't any other man...this was Clint Barton. This was the man who had saved her life all those years ago...the man who'd stood by her side and had her back ever since. This was the only person in the world that she trusted to know all of her deep dark secrets _and_ her heart. This was the man who had stolen her heart and knew every look, sound and thought. He taken care to prove to her that he wasn't the same person Loki had forced him to be, and had burrowed his way through her defenses to become so much more than her best friend. The thought hit her like a tidal wave, and in that moment she knew that she couldn't deny him anymore.

"Clint," she whimpered, allowing every single wall fall down. For the first time in her life, she surrendered whole-heartedly to another person. She allowed herself to be completely exposed and vulnerable.

The agent in question jerked back as if electrocuted. The tone of her voice was one that he had never heard before, and his heart stuttered a few beats. He realized what the tone meant, and his willpower almost crumbled. The adoring look in her eyes took his breath away, right along with his heart. "Yes, Tasha?" he breathed, struggling to conceal the tremor in his voice.

"Please...I want you to take me over the edge. Make love to me...please...stop this torture..." she begged. Clint clenched his eyes for a moment, allowing her words to wash over him, before crashing his lips against hers and rocking his pelvis against her. She gasped against his mouth, her fingernails dragging down his back, and Clint let go of his control. As he slammed into her over and over, Natasha's gasps and whimpers turned into moans as he brought both of them higher and higher. "God, Clint...yes..." She easily kept up with him, meeting each thrust effortlessly. Clint fisted his hand into her hair and yanked her head back. He could feel the airy laugh that the action drew out, mixed with hitches in her breath each time he drove her down into the mattress, as his mouth latched onto the curve of her shoulder and sucked hard. Natasha's nails dug into his own shoulders and gave a soft cry, her body tensing and her back arching into Clint. He felt her walls begin to clench around him, and allowed the sensation to drag him to his peak as well. He moaned as he came down slowly from the high, panting heavily and dropping himself onto his back beside an equally tired Natasha.

After a moment, he turned on to his side to watch the spy silently. She opened her eyes and turned to face him as well. "Tasha..."

"We can't let this change us out there, Clint. As much as they try to use us against each other now, it will only get worse if they know about this." She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.

"What exactly is _this_, Tasha? Is this a one-time thing?" he questioned gently, his eyes exploring the face he was, for the first time, having trouble reading.

"No...Clint, I...I've never opened up to anyone the way that I do with you. You are the _only person_ that I can drop the cold, bitter bitch persona with and just...be the person I want to be. I can be tough, but I can also be vulnerable if I want to be. Now that we've crossed this line, I don't think I can go back to what we were before."

Clint smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. She responded passionately, throwing all of her feelings into that kiss, knowing that it could be their last thanks to the battle. They remained in the embrace for a few moments, allowing themselves a little bit more time to just be, before they cleaned themselves up.

Natasha, always quicker than Clint, was ready first with a new uniform and left him to finish in the bathroom while she prepped her weapons. Her eyes turned up at a knock on her door, and she pressed the button to release the lock. She found Steve standing before her. "Quick, time to go."

Sliding easily into her battle-ready mindset, she nodded. "Where?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Clint was the one who answered him, exiting the bathroom in his black undershirt. "I can."

Steve shot her a questioning glance. She knew he was wondering a couple of things...was he back to himself, and what was he doing in her room? She simply nodded, which seemed to be enough for him. He looked to Clint. "Do you have a suit?"

"Yes."

"Then suit up." With that he was gone, heading back towards the bridge.


	2. Grief

Here's Chapter 2! Please let me know what you think of this scene! It is a lot shorter than the last one, but I felt that it was an important part missing out of the last one.

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Natasha turned to face Clint as he shrugged on his S.H.I.E.L.D. vest. "You ready?"

Clint grinned at her, but she could tell he had begun to clear his mind, just like she did, and allow his assassin side take over. "Always am." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead as he made his way out of the room, briefly allowing his emotions to show through again. "Nat, be careful out there."

"Always am," she echoed with a tender smile before leading him out of the room and towards the bridge to meet up with Rogers and Stark. When they both arrived, Tony looked over at them solemnly. Apprehension tightened Natasha's stomach for a moment. "What is it?"

"Cap noticed that you didn't have an earpiece in," he murmured, holding out a new one for her. Natasha realized it must've been taken off when she was taken into the medical bay. "What happened to yours? Last we'd heard from you was when you went after Legolas over here."

The pair looked at each other, recognizing the fact that he was stalling for some reason. "The fight got pretty heavy. What happened?" she questioned sharply. "Where is everyone?"

"The Hulk fell after a pilot tried to distract him. Thor went after Loki, and ended up trapped in the cage instead. Phil..." sheer dread filled the assassins at the playboy's hesitation. "Phil tried to help Thor but Loki tricked him. He's...he's dead."

It was easy for Natasha to tell herself that it wasn't true. Tony Stark was not an emotional person...he was snarky and obnoxious. The mixture of grief and rage in his eyes screamed otherwise, though, and she found herself speechless. She looked over to Clint, who looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. "I'm going to put an arrow in that son of a bitch's left eye." His voice was steady, but Natasha could see the storm brewing in his eyes.

"Are we ready to go?" Rogers asked gently, knowing that the best way for all of them to release their anger would be against the demigod at the center if the whole mess.

Natasha nodded. "You two go, we'll be right behind you, Cap." Tony and Steve both nodded and did not question her. As they left the assassins alone, Natasha turned to her partner. "Don't you dare."

Clint glared at her halfheartedly. "Tasha, it is _my fault_ that he's dead. _Because of me_, Loki was on the carrier to begin with, and had the chance to get the drop on him. Damnit!" Natasha grabbed his arms firmly before he had a chance to turn and punch the wall next to him. The archer glowered at her.

"Loki took control of you, Clint. It took you almost killing me to break his hold. There is nothing that you could have done to save Coulson. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this…he would want you to take the bastard truly responsible down for good. You know that."

Clint stared at her for a long moment, his eyes swirling with emotion. Eventually, he nodded, knowing that they didn't have time yet to truly grieve for their fallen handler and friend. Once his arrow found its mark and the son of a bitch was dead or bound so tightly that there was no hope of escape, he and Natasha would be able to properly honor him. Natasha kissed him firmly and then gestured for him to follow her onto the jet. He watched her go for a moment, allowing himself to garner strength from the confidence in her steps. Time to kick some evil demigod ass.


End file.
